Chinese to live longer than Americans by 2040, Spanish to live longest, study shows
Life expectancy will continue rising for all nations but China and US will trade places in rankings and Spain will surpass Japan as longest-living nation, researchers find
Life expectancy in 2040 is set to rise at least a little in all nations but the rankings will change dramatically, with Spain taking the top spot while China and the United States trade places, researchers say.
With a projected average lifespan of nearly 85.8 years, Spain – formerly in 4th place – will dethrone Japan, which sits atop the rankings today with a lifespan of 83.7 years, and will drop to 2nd place in 2040. Singapore will stay in third place, with life expectancy rising from 83.3 to 85.4 years.
Hong Kong, which has the world’s highest average life expectancy, according to Japan’s welfare ministry, was not ranked in the study.
Eight of the countries ranked in the top 10 for lifespan in 2016 will still be in the top 10 in 2040, the study shows.
In a shift that will be seen by some to reflect a superpower changing-of-the-guard, the world’s two largest economies effectively swap positions compared to 2016: in 2040 the US drops from 43rd to 64th (79.8 years), while China rises from 68th to 39th (81.9 years). Average life expectancy in the US will rise by only 1.1 years compared to the average global rise of 4.4 years.